The Cayman Islands Compliance Association donated $5,000 to the International College of the Cayman Islands today for its library in an ongoing effort to re-build its book collection to pre-Hurricane Ivan levels as a resource to students, faculty and the wider community.

“We are pleased to support the International College’s ongoing efforts to enhance its library and provide books and research materials for students and faculty,” said Compliance Association President Martin Livingston. “The Compliance Association takes enormous pride in contributing to the higher education and community in meaningful ways and we look forward to working with the International College in the future.”

The library donation by Compliance Association enables the International College to purchase important books, which students and instructors have been missing in many subject areas including business, law, history, English literature and mathematics, explained International College President John Cummings, PhD.

“While there has been a lot of progress in making library resources available on the Internet today, there is still a quantity of research and study that can only be achieved from physical books and reference materials and this donation is a tremendous boost to those efforts,” said Dr. Cummings. “I want to thank the Cayman Islands Compliance Association for their generous support of our library as it plays a critical role in higher education.”

Prior to Hurricane Ivan, the library at the International College had some 18,000 books, attracting doctoral students from across the Caribbean to conduct their research. That changed in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan destroyed 95 percent of the library’s books and resource materials. Today, the International College has some 4000 volumes as it continues to seek donations and funding to restocking the library as a resource for students, instructors, researchers and professionals.

“Our dream at the college is to build the facility back up to the point that it not just used by our students and faculty, but that it can also be used by the general public as the community library in the Savannah-Newlands area,” said International College Dean Scott Cummings.

“Since this is a non-profit institution, support from organizations like the Compliance Association allows the school to continue to provide a high quality education at an affordable cost,” the Dean said.

International College Librarian Michelle Gray-Williams said the donation by the Compliance Association will be used to purchase needed books in business and financial services such as banking, law, accounting and real estate, along with a range of other subjects.